During the installation process, certain products require the owner to program information into the device that corresponds to the geographic location of the product. This is typically done for products that modify their behavior, performance, or characteristics based on such information.
One example of such a product is the NOAA weather radio. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) provides a broadcast radio service for transmitting weather-related information and all-hazards alerts to specialized radio receivers. These NOAA Weather Radio (NWR) receivers can be tuned to radio frequencies used to broadcast regional weather information and all-hazards alerts. Recent advances to the NOAA broadcast transmission provide the potential for greater localized specificity of alerts. A new NWR alert messaging encoding scheme called SAME (Specific Area Message Encoding) allows NWR receivers to select only messages that contain a code that matches a code programmed into the receiver. However, the user must program the NWR receiver with information corresponding to the receiver's geographic location in order for the NWR receiver to discriminate locally specific information contained in the broadcast. This process typically involves looking up and entering a six-digit code into the NWR receiver that corresponds to the receiver's geographic location.
After buying an NWR receiver capable of receiving all-hazards alert messages using the SAME encoding scheme, the user must program their county, parish, or city into the radio. The NWR will then alert only for weather and other emergencies for the county(ies) programmed. NWR receivers without the SAME capability will respond to any alert within the coverage area of the NWR transmitter, typically several counties, even though the emergency could be well away from the listener. To program NWR SAME receivers with the proper county(ies) of choice, the user needs to know the six-digit SAME code number(s) for that county(ies). The numbers are available online through the NOAA website and by telephone using an interactive voice menu. After determining the numbers, the user must follow the directions supplied the manufacturer of the NWR SAME receiver for programming.
While the process may seem simple to technically capable individuals, it requires proficiency in reading the owner's manual, ability to understand and follow a sometimes-complicated series of steps without making a mistake, and the diligence to re-program the NWR should the radio be moved to another location.
Thomson Consumer Electronics Company has introduced a line of television sets that incorporate a NWR receiver. The location-based codes are set up through an interface using the television screen. This arrangement requires the user to operate the remote control and identify the specific State, county, and portion of the county in which the television is located. While this product provides the user with a graphical interface for programming, it still requires the user to program the apparatus manually. Therefore, it would have to be programmed manually upon initial setup, and every time the television set is moved, such as to a new city or town. If the owner's manual or remote control is ever lost, programming could prove to be more difficult. Furthermore, those who rely on the television set for providing accurate alerts to life threatening situations may not know that the set needs to be re-programmed, and could be under the false impression that the set continues to provide all-hazards alert notification.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,526,268 to Marrah describes a method for a mobile NWR receiver to use Global Positioning System (GPS) technology to acquire its precise location and cross-reference that location with a set of geographically related codes. The inclusion of GPS technology makes it possible for a mobile (or in-vehicle) NWR to dynamically update its location-based programming codes, but would add significant cost to a fixed-location radio. Also, because the database of geographically related codes is stored in the apparatus' memory, that database must be kept up to date as additional codes are implemented.